federal government can run deficits. when you have these incredible recessions, you want to do cyclical policy like cutting when things are bad and growing when things are good. maybe the federal government should be handling there and have the revenue sharing that was part of the recovery act. >> i think you are making an important point. when we talk about what's going to happen with the fiscal fiasco, it's a cliff, a political construction. 18% of federal grants to states are at risk. when we hear from governor malloy, what it means for connecticut, it's devastating. one of the things that means is that we have to look at what it means to think about federal support. states are actually the distribution vehicles for important programs to support people to feed their families. if you just take the woman and infant nutrition program, which is one of the programs we are looking at being slashed, you are talking about people who actually are trying to feed their families working 12 hours a day. states are actually the dis